Imagine you are walking through a soulless building. The corridors are empty. The walls are blank, save for an occasional functional notice. Nothing distracts you from the task in hand, the unrelenting routine, the looming deadlines. Then you turn a corner and see something surprising: a colourful landscape painting, an evocative abstract sculpture, a calm and beautiful face encircled by a fish.
In the following article, curator Caroline Field reflects upon the power of art in a work or study environment – the impact of which she notices as she strategically places artworks from the Australian Catholic University art collection around the university’s eight campuses. “It’s lovely for people to find artworks by accident, to come across something unexpected in that setting. It causes people to consider, to question and to become more engaged with their world”.
Senuelo by Barbie Kjar is a surreal portrait of a woman wearing a fish as a collar. Caroline chose it because the expression on the woman’s face was so peaceful. “It has a spiritual calm and meditative quality. I hope it will just stop people for a moment of reflection whether it’s deeply spiritual or whether it’s just to pause and contemplate.”
To read the full article, click here.
Image above: Barbie Kjar Senuelo 2011 drypoint, two colours, two plates 56 x 38 cm